Politics
As a candidate with the British Columbia Liberal Party,Coleman was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 1996 to represent Fort Langley-Aldergrove,and was re-elected in that riding in 2001,2005,2009 and 2013. [9] During his first term from 1996 to 2001,Coleman served as opposition housing critic,forests deputy critic and caucus whip,and was a member of the Official Opposition Caucus Committee on Crime. [6] With the Liberals gaining power in 2001,he was named to the cabinet by Premier Gordon Campbell as Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. [10]
After winning re-election in 2005,he was re-assigned Minister of Forests and Range,and Minister Responsible for Housing. [10] He approved in January 2007 the removal of 28,283 hectares (approx. 70,000 acres) of private land from three coastal tree farm licences along the southwest coast of Vancouver Island,and transferred ownership of these lands in totality to Western Forest Products. [11] Minister Coleman announced this decision about eight months after his brother,Stan Coleman,joined Western Forest Products as their manager of strategic planning. [2]
In response to the many concerns and allegations of this land giveaway,the University of Victoria's Environmental Law Centre requested an official investigation by the Auditor-General's Office of British Columbia. [12] On July 1,2008,BC Auditor-General John Doyle released his report,"Removing Private Land from Tree Farm Licences 6,19 &25:Protecting the Public Interest?" [13] In his report he "condemned former forests minister Rich Coleman for allowing a forestry company to remove land from three tree farm licences for residential development,citing the possibilities of conflicts of interest and insider trading by government staff." [14]
As Minister of Housing and Social Development from 2008 to 2010, [10] Rich Coleman presided over those years when offshore foreign investment in BC real estate was a growing public concern,amidst a growing housing crisis. As late as July 2015,he refused to comply with repeated requests for relevant data and analysis:“We’ve worked with the real estate guys for years and have got data on sales,”Coleman said. Asked twice why not at least share the data,he redirected the topic to dangers of restricting foreign investment,claiming that “throws an ethnic group out there and says they’re the problem.” [15] By August 2016,with a year leading up to the next provincial election (May 2017),"the B.C. government moved so quickly to institute its new tax on foreign buyers that it never finished a promised study into the impact of foreign ownership on housing affordability." [16]
Coleman briefly resumed the role of Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General in April 2009 following the resignation of John van Dongen,until Kash Heed took over the post that June. [10] During that time,Coleman was the minister responsible [17] [18] for the April 2009 shutdown of an RCMP task force on illegal gambling,three months after it warned that organized crime was involved in both legal and illegal gaming activities in BC. [19] Internal government records were later released suggesting that the task force was disbanded due to "funding pressure ... and perceived ineffectiveness." [20] Coleman has said that the team was shut down because "it wasn't effective." [21] In early 2020 new revelations came to light regarding the extent and criminality of this episode of money laundering in BC. Rich Coleman "was repeatedly asked to respond in an interview to the allegations in this story" but refused,agreeing by statement only to cooperate with any future inquiry. [22] Coleman once more returned as Solicitor General in October 2010 following a cabinet shuffle. [10] [23]
On December 1,2010,Coleman announced to the media he had decided not to enter the provincial Liberal leadership race to replace the outgoing Gordon Campbell. Coleman indicated he had planned to announce his run the following day,had MLA support and campaign funds,but decided not to pursue the post due to family reasons. [24] [25] [26] He was considered a frontrunner in the race. [27] He instead supported Kevin Falcon, [28] who placed second in the leadership election behind Christy Clark.
Coleman was named Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Housing in March 2011,as part of Clark's initial cabinet. [29] [30] He became deputy premier in September 2012 following the resignation of Kevin Falcon,and continued in the re-titled post of Minister of Energy,Mines and Natural Gas. [29] Following his re-election in 2013,he was named to the newly established position of Minister of Natural Gas Development,and stayed on as deputy premier. [29]
He was re-elected in the 2017 election in the new riding of Langley East, [9] and returned to the cabinet as deputy premier and Minister of Energy and Mines. [31] He finished his term in both roles that July, [29] following the Liberal minority government's defeat in a confidence vote on June 29. [32] With Christy Clark resigning as leader of the Liberal Party,Coleman stated he did not intend to run for the position,and was named interim party leader and Leader of the Opposition on August 4,2017. [33] [34] He served in those roles until Andrew Wilkinson was elected new Liberal leader in February 2018,and announced in February 2020 that he would not seek re-election in the next provincial election. [35]
Coleman is considered one of the best fundraisers and organizers for the BC Liberals. [27]
In June 2022 the Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia final report stated:"By 2010,then-minister responsible for gaming Rich Coleman was aware of the concerns of the GPEB investigation division and law enforcement that the province's casinos were being used to launder the proceeds of crime... more could have been done by Mr. Coleman... who served in that role for extended periods during the evolution of this crisis. [36]
A poll conducted by Research Co. in June 2022 found that 66% of British Columbians believed it is true that Coleman knowingly ignored warnings about suspected drug money laundering in casinos. [37]
Coleman ran for mayor of Langley Township in 2022 as a candidate with Elevate Langley, [1] finishing a distant third. [38]
